Shoreline
Relaxing in the sun warmed veranda,
Admiring the grass, growing moment by steady moment,
Abruptly, a chop and a thud sneak round the corner.
Pause. A chop and a thud.
Longer pause. Another chop followed by another thud.
My breathing slows, eye-brow raised, waiting,
Waiting, expectantly, for the next chop,
Will there be a next chop?
What if there’s a chop, but no thud?

What if? What if?
What would a life be like,
Made up of what ifs.

A train leaves a station, who got on?
Who answered their life’s calling?
Rolling fields of rippling greens flow by,
Punctuated with silent passing faces.
A station, a stop, a pause in our life journey,
Some folks get up, gather their stuff and leave,
Some new folks get on and look around,
Muttering softly to themselves,
Pondering where they should sit,
And whom to avoid.

Whom to avoid? Whom to avoid?
What would a life be like,
Made up of whom to avoid.

Sweet incense swirls, upward and fleeting,
What others’ pleasing stories have our lives told,
What dreams fell by the wayside, too frail to survive,
Paths we take, were led to, followed dutifully,
Innocent anecdotes of mortal games.

Our candles burn slowly down and down,
Unfolding distortions of dream-time myths,
Your timeless wisdom calls us home,
Are we the light in the darkness,
The eternal in the fleeting.